ideas + images

curated by sierra gonzalez 
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photography

 

Sugimoto as scientist

To be a good photographer you have to be a scientist as well.

Hiroshi Sugimoto on his latest project, "Lightning Fields." Sugimoto uses a Van de Graaff generator (capable of creating 400,000 volts) to charge a metal ball that he uses to shock large sheets of film. [Lightning Fields | Modern Painter ]

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Above: "Lightning Fields 013" (2006). Gelatin silver print, 59 x 47 in.

Below: Self-portrait by Hiroshi Sugimoto, 2008.

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Filed under  //   art   photography   science  

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"It's time we Met" on Flickr

The photographs for the latest ad campaign at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York aren't from the museum's archives or commissioned photographers--they're submissions on Flickr from average museum-goers, and they're causing quite a stir.

As with many photos culled from Flickr for commercial use, professional (or aspiring) photographers are raising concerns over fair compensation for the photographs used in the "It's time we Met" campaign.  The comments on the NYTimes Arts blog covering the story neglect the fact that the photos are part of a voluntary contest that requires photographers to license their submissions (using Creative Commons) for use. While I don't think permissions is a problem, the campaign brings up some interesting points:

What will the quality of the museum visit be like with visitors snapping photos left and right? Will this inspire (or even condone?) visitors posing like Greek statues for the sake of a good photo? Does this lessen the respect for the art, or does it encourage visitors to take a closer look at what they're seeing?

How does this change the Met's relationship with photographers? Some professional photographers see the contest as a penny-pinching way to grab marketing creative and are resentful of the museum's perceived lack of support for their industry. (On the other hand, as a non-profit, the Met's advertising budget may require cost-saving tactics.) Other photographers are grateful that the Met has embraced picture-taking in most of its galleries, since many museums do not allow photographing art (for various reasons).

What does this mean for museums on the web? The Met's embrace of social media shows that they're keeping tabs of communication trends and open to learning from their visitors. (The museum's participation--along with over a dozen other art institutions--in Wikipedia Loves Art is another great example.) Is online content for museum websites on its way to being user-driven?

Filed under  //   advertising   creative commons   flickr   marketing   museum   photography  

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Saved by Science: Behind the scenes at AMNH


Waiting Room, Justine Cooper, 2005.

As part of Seed's birthday celebration for Charles Darwin, Carl Zimmer went behind the scenes at the American Natural History Museum in New York to look at the history of collecting science collections. Justine Cooper's accompanying photographs capture some haunting vignettes of the museum behind the curtain.*

*I had the Wizard of Oz in mind when I wrote that, but now it reminds me of Charles Peale's self portrait that reveals his personal collection--America's first museum--behind a red curtain:

The Artist in His Museum, Charles Willson Peale, 1822.

Filed under  //   behind the scenes   museum   new york   photography   science  

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